Fight the Fatigue: Tips for Overcoming Senioritis

By Madison O'Leary

As the days are getting warmer and the college acceptances are rolling in, the cases of the dreaded “senioritis” seem to be on the rise. I, for one, can attest to this fact.  However, like so many in the class of 2021, I know that it is still imperative to stay on top of my classes and keep my grades up for those senior final exemptions. With only two months left in the school year, it’s probably in the seniors’ collective best interest to continue working hard. So, I have compiled a list of tips that I have been using to stay motivated for this last stretch of the school year:
 
1) Set your own deadlines for final projects. Whenever I have been assigned an essay or a presentation project this year, I have been breaking up the work across multiple days. I tell myself that I need to write however many pages, or however many slides each day, and I hold myself accountable for finishing the work. Splitting up my more time-consuming projects across multiple days has been especially helpful this past year, and I have been much less stressed-out as a result. I know that at this stage in the game, it is too easy to put an assignment off to the last minute and put in minimal effort--or, just not do it at all!
 
2) Make a list of all the upcoming deadlines for end-of-the-year senior events.
Between prom and graduation and the upcoming Disney class trip, we can easily lose track of the payments and forms and deadlines. Canvas can be difficult to navigate, and I know that I’ve almost missed deadlines, or have forgotten that a form was due soon. Adding all of the available due dates for these forms and payments to an individualized planner/schedule has helped me stay organized over the last few weeks, so I would highly recommend investing in one. You
wouldn’t want to miss out on any of these experiences because of a missed deadline!
 
3) If you have the time, use that extra hour right after school ends to get ahead on assignments. I know that I do not have any motivation to do schoolwork later at night, and starting my work right after school has really helped me stay on top of my various projects. It seems silly, but using this extra time at the end of the day has really helped me remain organized!
 
I also interviewed some other members from the class of 2021 (Kajal Sitapara, Reeve
Bernstein, Kaylin Lee, and Maren Donegan) to get their perspective on this crazy senior
year and how they’ve been managing any “senioritis” symptoms:
 
Q: How have you been managing any “senioritis”?
Kajal: I don’t think my senioritis is as bad as others’ when it comes to homework and
stuff but it does make it hard to get out of bed and go to school in person rather than
virtually.
Reeve: I've been managing senioritis by only letting myself skip homework once or
twice a month
Kaylin: I'm honestly just telling myself that there's only 2 more months left and it would
be really depressing if I failed out now.
Maren: I think a lot of what has been “warding off senioritis” for me is balancing life and
school equally. Exercise definitely helps me to focus and get motivated!
 
Q: What have you been doing to stay motivated?
Kajal: Going in person and doing my homework as soon as I get home so that I still feel
the effects of “in-school” motivation
Reeve: My motivation mainly comes from prom, Disney, and the fact that we're almost
done the year. Why give up now if we're so close?
Kaylin: To stay motivated, I study and do homework with my friends on FaceTime.
Maren: I know what my goals are, and I know the classes I’m taking right now will be
important for my long term goals
 
Q: How has your senior year experience been so far?
Kajal: It’s been pretty lonely because a lot of my friends are virtual while I’m in person.
I'm glad our officers decided to host a prom when our school said they wouldn’t!
Reeve: Senior year was definitely not what I thought it would be when I came into North
as a freshman. It went way faster than I thought it would, and even though half was
virtual, I still really enjoyed it!
Kaylin: It's been different than I imagined it would be, but it hasn't been that bad. It
would be nice to see my friends in person, though!
Maren: It’s definitely been different, but it’ll be a good story to tell my grandkids one day!
 
Q: What are you looking forward to most about the rest of this school year?
Kajal: Graduating.
Reeve: Definitely looking forward to the garden gala prom and the Disney trip with my
friends! I'm also excited for graduation day!
Kaylin: I'm looking forward to the Disney trip so I can forget about finals for a week!
Maren: Graduation and seeing where all my friends/classmates end up going after high
school.
 
It seems like the general consensus is the upcoming senior events are keeping
everyone in the class of 2021 on task and motivated. Personally, I’m looking forward to
what the rest of this year has to bring! Good luck to all the seniors, and keep trying to
fight against the dreaded “senioritis”!

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